The present invention relates to geodetic domes, and in particular to a simplified geodetic dome construction.
Many attempts have been made to reduce the cost of housing and other building structures. Conventional building techniques are labor-intensive, and the labor used must be relatively skilled, resulting in high costs. Factory-built housing, including mobile homes, uses inexpensive labor but is often found to be aesthetically undesirable and has other problems limiting its application in the housing market. New types of building structures, such as geodetic domes, are usually as expensive or more expensive to construct than conventional building structures because their construction is also labor-intensive and requires skilled labor.
The present invention provides a manner of constructing a geodetic dome which is not labor-intensive and does not require skilled labor. The joints for the dome structure each include a spool having an outer surface with a radially projecting circumferential spline. The beams which form the skeleton of the dome have ends which abut the outer surfaces of the spools and engage the splines to prevent movement of the beams axially with respect to the spools. The beams are retained against the spools to prevent movement of the beams radially with respect to the spools.
It is preferred that the beams be retained against the spools by tension members passing through slits in the beams and biasing the beams against the spools. The dome structure of the present invention can be completed by inserting panels into grooves formed in the confronting surfaces of the beams. A skin may be used to cover the beams, and the space between the skin and the panels filled with insulation.
The geodetic dome structure of the present invention can readily be constructed by unskilled workers. The entire structure fits together like a jigsaw puzzle, but when constructed, is extremely strong and durable, belying its minimal cost of construction. Geodetic dome structures constructed according to the teachings of the present invention can be used for housing, greenhouses, and other applications.
The novel features which are characteristic of the invention, as to organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof will be better understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.